Never Forget
by Roman Empire
Summary: A 9/11 Memorial story.  Please read with all consideration and respect for the families of the victims of the 9/11 attack.


**Hello, my fellow readers and writers. Now, while some of you may or may not be American, I'm sure you were moved by the events of 9/11. If you weren't, then you are a soulless monster that deserves whatever horrible fate that comes to you.**

**In all seriousness, this is my personal memorial to the families who were broken by Al Qaeda on September 11, 2001. Even though they are cartoon characters, please don't let it detract from the emotional trauma. This is what happened to me on that fateful day, 10 years ago exactly...**

9/11/2001

"Gumball, Darwin, and Anais Watterson to the office for early dismissal. Gumball, Darwin and Anais Watterson to the office for early dismissal."

Gumball looked over at his fishy friend and shrugged. Darwin picked up his books and supplies and whispered to the blue cat, "Why are we leaving early, Gumball?"

Gumball collected his own things as he replied, "I don't know, man. I thought the shrug would've told you that. Maybe Anais knows. She knows things."

Darwin nodded in agreement. Ms. Simian shouted to them, "Well, what are you two waiting for? Get out of here!" The two students got up and left the classroom, waving goodbye to their fellow students. The pair caught up with Anais back at the lockers.

"Hey, sis?" Gumball asked the small pink rabbit, "Do you know why we're leaving early? 'Cause I don't remember Mom saying she was gonna pick us up or anything…" Gumball's thoughts trailed off as he collected his bookbag from his locker, Darwin doing the same.

"No, I just heard the announcement. Mom didn't say anything to me either," Anais said, following suit of her brothers.

"Do you think we have a doctor's appointment or something?" Darwin suggested as he led the way to the office, his "siblings" in pursuit.

"No, Mom would've told us," Anais corrected him. Then she stopped in her tracks. Gumball and Darwin looked back at her. "You don't think… Mom or Dad got _hurt_, do you?"

They young boys' reactions were identical and immediate, the shock quite apparent. They glanced at one another before dashing down the hallway, Anais struggling to keep pace. Upon arriving at the office, they were greeted with a powerful hug from their mother.

"Oh, thank God you're okay!" Nicole breathed a sigh of relief. She released her children and looked them in the eyes. "We're going home, okay?" They all nodded in assent.

"Mom?" Anais asked her, "Is everything okay? Dad's not hurt, is he?"

Gumball and Darwin looked up at taller, more feminine version of the former. Nicole spoke to her children, the worry returning to her voice. "Yes, you're father's fine. But we have to go. Now."

At this, the family packed up in the station wagon and headed home. All was silent as Nicole drove, quickly but surely, home. This silence disturbed the children, but they didn't dare break it.

Upon arrival at their abode, the four family members were greeted by the fifth – an overlarge rabbit that was as nervous as could be. "C'mon everybody, inside!" Nicole gathered her children, still in the dark, and ushered them into the house.

After depositing their school belongings in their respective rooms, Gumball, Darwin, and Anais returned to the living room, where their parents sat waiting. "Kids, have a seat. We need to talk," Nicole told her children, who did as such.

After several tense minutes, Gumball and Darwin said simultaneously, "What's going on!" Nicole looked at her husband, who nodded.

She breathed out a distressed sigh. "Alright. I just don't know where to start…"

Richard, for once doing a responsible fatherly act, took over. "Kids, do you know what 'terrorism' is?"

The children all shook their heads, completely lost. Nicole had regained her composure. "Well, do you know where New York City is?"

This garnered a nod from each youngster, and Richard continued the joint-parental speech. "And do you know what the Twin Towers are?" Another set of nods.

"But what does that have to do with 'terminism'?" Gumball spoke up.

"Terrorism, son." Richard sighed as he tried to come up with a good answer. It was Nicole's turn to take over for him, though.

"Do you understand that there are good people in the world?"

Each child gave a 'Yeah' of agreement, so she continued. "And that means that there are bad people, too, right?" Once again, she was met with a chorus of confirmation.

"Well," Richard cut in, "Sometimes the bad people do things _very_ bad. Each of you, name something you think is bad."

Gumball spoke first. "Stealing."

Darwin put in his two cents next. "Violence."

Anais, however, hit the nail on the head. "…Murder."

Nicole pointed at her daughter. "Good. Now, can any of you think of something worse than murder?"

The trio sat and thought for a few minutes, but ultimately failed the challenge, shaking their heads in disappointment. Richard took control of the conversation again. "What about murdering a bunch of innocent people? People who didn't do anything at all?"

Darwin interrupted this time. "But what kind of person would do such a thing!"

"Terrorists," Nicole answered the half-rhetorical question. Darwin, along with the other offspring, merely stared at their parents.

"But what was the thing about the Twin Towers about?" Anais questioned.

"You see," Richard explained carefully, "terrorists are _very_ bad people. They try to scare people into giving things up – like hope." This caused very little reaction in his kids' faces, so he continued, seeing as Nicole had folded her arms and was looking at the floor. "Well, today our country was attacked by terrorists."

A gasp escaped three pairs of lips, but Richard continued anyway. "Two planes were crashed into the Twin Towers earlier this morning." All eyes were on him, unwavering. "A third one was crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. And there was supposed to be a fourth plane."

This speech was met with silence. After several minutes, it was surprisingly Nicole who made her presence known. "A fourth plane? Where was it going? What happened?"

Richard rubbed his eyes, then looked at his wife. "It crashed. It was supposed to land somewhere in D.C."

"_Supposed_to land there? What happened?" Gumball's curiosity took over.

Richard looked at his son. "Well, when the terrorists took over the plane, they didn't consider what the passengers would do." He took a moment to gather his thoughts, during which time his family waited eagerly, but patiently. Finally, the speech went on. "Everyone on board the plane fought back. The terrorists tried to stop them, to keep them out of the cockpit, but they couldn't. The passengers kept fighting until they broke through. But they knew they couldn't safely land the plane anywhere. So they sacrificed themselves." Nicole and Anais began crying profusely, but Gumball and Darwin merely let out a single tear each. Richard contained himself before finishing his speech. "They crashed the plane near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. They weren't going to let the terrorists get away with it."

Gumball was silent as Darwin had one final question. "But what happens now? What do we do?" Nicole and her daughter ceased crying momentarily to hear what Richard would say. How he had delivered such a moving speech was beyond anyone's guess, whilst it was nowhere on their minds.

Richard scratched his head before he said. "They tried to hurt us, not in our bodies, but in our hearts. We cannot give them that satisfaction. We must keep our hope. And we must never forget what happened today, September 11, 2001."

**Hopefully this was a good reminder of what happened to us that fateful day. I know that I will never forget, that I will hold this day in my heart until my dying breath. And being a native Pennsylvanian, I am proud of the passengers of Flight 93. I can't imagine what it would be like to call your loved ones, only to tell them goodbye one last time, to tell them that you love them. I just picture the last thought in their heads being "I am going to die today. I have no say in this matter. But if these bastards are going to kill me, I won't give them the satisfaction of succeeding. Of crashing this plane into God-knows-where, taking hundreds or thousands more than the people on this plane. It will end here." By overtaking the plane, the passengers successfully crashed it in an empty field near Shanksville, saving the lives of everyone who was, as I presume, in the Capitol building, though the government is unable to confirm the actual destination.**

**If you were moved by this story, please recommend it to anyone who you think will, and please review. I shouldn't have to say no flames, and I don't expect any for something like this.**

**And I will end in the most proper way I can think of: the Pledge of Allegiance. If you are patriotic, put you hand on your heart and pledge aloud.**

I pledge allegiance to the flag

Of the United States of America,

And to the Republic for which it stands;

One nation under God, indivisible,

With Liberty and Justice for all.


End file.
